Legal wrangle boat sinks in harbour 9/10/12
A coastal day trip cruise boat at the centre of a ten year legal row has sunk at her berth. The vessel which is a fixture in Stornoway harbour may now be scrapped leaving lawyers to argue over who the owner.
The MV Monaco has been robbed on numerous occasions and is a target for vandals. She has slowly decayed in Stornoway’s inner harbour since 2002.
Earlier this year the Court of Session has found that Murdo Macdonald of Erista, Uig, Lewis, was wrongly sold a defective boat and is entitled to get his £75,000 back from Robert and Elizabeth Pollock.
But the Pollocks plan to appeal to the Supreme Court. It is understood they are seeking legal aid to continue the court action.
Last month the Monaco was relocated a few metres down from her long-
But with many cracks and holes, she flooded on yesterday’s (Tues) high tide and she was sunk to the gunwales.
Jane Maciver, chief executive of Stornoway Port Authority said the harbour bylaws may be now invoked to remove the vessel.
She said: “We are looking to declare her as a wreck. We are keeping both parties informed.”
Ms Maciver said she was shifted from her berth near the RNLI lifeboat station as it was feared she would sink there and impede fishing and leisure vessels.
The saga dates back to when Murdo Macdonald purchased the former fishing boat for conversion into a coastal tourist cruise ship.
But, on the trip from Oban to Lewis, after handing over the money, the boat started heavily leaking oil.
Mr Macdonald had spotted the Monaco advertised in a yachting magazine in August 2002.
He was assured the engine was in good condition.
According to court findings, Mr Macdonald wanted the boat for his own cruise boat business in the Outer Hebrides and commissioned a general survey of the boat which was lying at Corpach, near Fort William.
The surveyor assured him she was in good shape. However, neither a sea trial nor detailed examination of the engine was carried out.
Court papers say Mr Pollock, who operated a similar live-
But he told Mr Macdonald the engine was "excellent" and in "perfect condition."
Mr Macdonald paid £75,000 for the vessel after personally undertaking a 30 minute sea trial as well as a superficial visual inspection of the outer casings of the engine above the engine room deck.
He set sail from Oban harbour on 21 September 2002 setting course to Stornoway.
After an overnight stay in Tobermory it became obvious the engine was losing excessive oil and needed to be topped up twice.
An engineer was summoned to the boat when she called in at Scalpay, Harris, and a leak from a weld joint was discovered below the floor plates.
More lubricating oil was poured into the engine and she chugged north at slow speed into Stornoway where another examination discovered oil was also coming out of several engine securing bolts.
Mr Macdonald telephoned Mr Pollock on 25 September 2002 cancelling the deal.
Mr Macdonald’s lawyer blundered by initially seeking the cost of repairs rather than getting the payment price returned, though that was altered when the case came to court.
But the Court of Session found that the wider picture of Mr Macdonald refusing to have anything practical to do with the boat indicated he was rejecting ownership.
The original court case at Oban Sheriff Court had found in Mr Macdonald’s favour but was overturned after the Pollocks appealed.
Mr Macdonald then successfully challenged that appeal decision in the Court of Session
Scotland’s highest civil court found that the Mr and Mrs Pollock sold the Monaco "in the course of a business" so the Sale of Goods Act applied and they were obliged to ensure the vessel was of satisfactory quality.
It also rejected the view that oil leaks could have been detected if the surveyor had carried out a full examination of the engine.
The Pollocks may appeal that court judgement.